


Pink Cupcakes and Blue Sweaters

by thewolves



Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Bake Sale, Cupcakes, Fluff, Getting Together, Joseph's dad was a dick, M/M, Mentions of Religious Homophobia, Robert POV, divorced!Joseph, fire&brimstone y'all, gay!Joseph, mention of Hugo/Damien, roseph, supportive!Robert, wholesome roseph
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-12 08:25:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11733303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewolves/pseuds/thewolves
Summary: After moving in together with Robert, Joseph is participating in another bake sale - his first in a year. He's apprehensive about meeting the cul-de-sac neighbors again. Robert is trying to be there for him in any way possible.





	Pink Cupcakes and Blue Sweaters

"How go the cupcakes?" Robert asked, entering his house.

The smell that greeted him was divine, chocolate mostly but there were hints of almonds and raspberries as well. Joseph was going all out.

"They're... going," Joseph sighed loudly. Not good.

"Any room for these two bottles of rum?" Robert said by a way of joke, entering the kitchen. This was his 96th day of total sobriety.

"Oh ha, ha," Joseph said, turning. "I could use some of that imaginary rum myself."

Joseph was wearing a light blue apron over his signature pink polo shirt. The smile on his face was a mixture of tired and worried. Still the most beautiful thing Robert'd seen since waking up.

Robert walked up to him, and, putting his arms around Joseph's waist said, "It's gonna be okay, Joe. Your cupcakes would make Mary Berry herself combust in ecstasy."

Joseph turned his head, "You sweet talker you," he said in a soft voice, then dipped his finger into the raspberry frosting and decorated Robert's nose with it.

"Mmm, love that peach," Robert said, mock smelling the cream on his nose.

For a second, Joseph froze. But only a second. Next thing he did was lean into Robert, wiggle his ass a little. "I know," he said.

Robert let out an involuntary chuckle.

Joseph licked the cream off his nose. "I knew it! You like The Great British Bake Off just like any other normal person. You're gonna watch every episode with me from now on."

"Only if you admit you like staking out the woods for cryptids with me and finally agree to become my apprentice," Robert whispered in Joseph's ear, loving the way Joseph relaxed in his arms. He decided to press his luck by nipping on Joseph's earlobe.

"We'll negotiate later," Joseph said in a husky voice. "Now let me finish the cupcakes and-" he coughed suggestively, "maybe I'll let you mess up my new apron."

Robert ran his hand over the apron in question, it was a nice apron. Pity they'd have to burn it later. Just like all the others.

"I... 'll be over there," Robert pointed to the living room couch. Watching you handle the goods in hope you'll handle my goods was left unsaid.

"Come 'ere," Joseph said before Robert could disentangle his hands from Joseph's waist. He turned around entirely and placed his wide palms smelling of butter and raspberry and chocolate on Robert's cheeks. For a moment he just gazed at Robert, biting his lip in that Joseph way. Then he kissed Robert deeply, voraciously.

It was over too quickly. The next minute, Robert found himself hobbling to the couch in a daze, smelling cupcakes on himself and with the promise of another apron tribute burning in his heart. Betsy, who had already been dozing on the couch, lifted her head in a judgy way, then put it back on her paws and continued dozing.

  
Robert and Joseph were an item now. Had been for a couple of months. This however, was the first bake sale for Joseph's church since they moved in together. First bake sale for Joseph as an active participant in more than a year. A year of... so many events and so many changes. "This is important to Joseph" was an understatement.

Robert watched Joseph decorate the cupcakes with frosting. By now he intimately knew even the smallest wrinkles on Joseph's face. He could recognise even the smallest sign of apprehension. And Joseph was very much apprehensive about this bake sale. He'd have to face, and sell his cupcakes to, everyone in the cul-de-sac.

Robert had done all he could think of to put him at peace, he whittled him a cupcake, he shared all the gossip he knew about the cul-de-sac inhabitants, initiated way more bedroom activities than was advisable for his age, almost resolved to pay Ernest Hemingway Vega to burn a backyard in case of an emergency several times. Still those worry lines on Joseph's face wouldn't go away.

And he understood why very well. Of course he did. That didn't mean he'd give up on trying to make Joseph, the man he loved, happy.

  
It'd been a year or so since Joseph and Mary decided to divorce. Back then no one really knew what'd happened. Why everyone's favorite youth minister to want to divorce the mother of his four children. Robert, of course, later found out (from both Mary and Joseph) that it was a mutual decision. Mary kept the house, Joseph moved out, first to the yacht, then to an apartment few streets away. He kept his youth minister job, Mary decided to quit drinking, the divorce was finalized in two weeks' time. It was all quite amicable and for-the-greater-good.

For the first couple of months after that, Robert didn't really see much of Joseph. He did, however, hear rumors about him getting into drugs and, even more appalling ones, that he grew out a beard and was seen wearing neutral colors.

Third month after the divorce, they ran into each other. It was an early morning, Robert had made a night of it at his "thinking place" on the hill above the city. He was dozing in the back of his pick-up when he heard something that sounded like footsteps fast approaching. Truth be told, he'd been drinking the night before, well into the morning, and so he decided he'd fight and bottle whoever dared to sully his favorite thinking-slash-masturbation   
spot with jogging.

He'd gotten perpendicular to the ground and had already chosen a few choice words for the bourgeois brute who Dared, when he recognised the brute in question. He was wearing a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants and he had a beard, but it was him, Joseph fuckin' Christiansen.

They exchanged a few words, and Robert showed Joseph his most recent whittling scars, then he remembered Mary and tried to challenge Joseph to a knife fight. Joseph offered him some water and drove him home. When Robert woke up that evening, he was not sure if he'd dreamed the encounter.

Next time they met, Robert wasn't quite as drunk. A month had passed, and he was just coming out of the knife store - having treated himself to a new, high quality whittling knife - when he saw Joseph with little Christie. Joseph was taking his daughter to the ballet class. He still had the beard and was wearing a grey sweater. One that clung to all the right places. Robert's less alcohol-evaporated part of brain told him to leave immediately. But his other part of brain, and maybe some lower, redder organ (his goddamn heart) told him he should at least thank Joseph for doing him a good turn a month ago.

That's how they ended up in the Coffee Spoon, talking about things while waiting for Christie's ballet class to be over.

Joseph told him about renting out his yacht and how sorry he was for - they both knew what. Robert showed Joseph some photos of dogs, and his new knife. In the end they agreed to let bygones be bygones. They even hugged. In a totally friendly way.

  
In present, Joseph was putting the cupcakes into a large box, a proud look illuminated his face.

"I think I'm done," he said to Robert, who pretended he hadn't just spent an undefined amount of time staring at him. "You.. want a taste?"

"Only if you'll feed it to me," Robert said, winking.

"We do have-" Joseph looked at the clock, "-an hour to kill," he said in a mock pensive way, walking up to Robert with a cupcake in his hand. "And I would like some thorough critiquing, Mr. Marry Berry Fan."

"I'll be, what's the expression? Hard but fair," Robert said, letting Joseph straddle him on the couch. Betsy ran off to the hallway, smart girl.

  
An hour of thorough critiquing passed quickly. At the end of it, another apron was in the trashcan.

After they showered and got presentable, it was time to get out of the house and set up Joseph's stand at the bake sale.

  
Once there, they realized they were somewhat early. In spite of that, Joseph, who'd been quite relaxed for the past hour, tensed up again. His lips were a straight line, and his eyes darted here and there, never quite setting on one place, or even worse, a face.

"You okay?" Robert asked. His hands itched to touch Joseph's cheek.

"Yeah," Joseph breathed, and offered him a barely-there smile.

"You know I..." Robert started, then hesitated. "...can buy all your cupcakes if these plebes won't treat themselves? I'm loaded." He gave him a sleazy smile and a wink.

"I know," Joseph said, actually smiling. Then he hugged Robert, and his body was much less tense than it'd looked. "Promise you'll stay here, with me?" Joseph said seriously.

"I'm not going anywhere, Joe," Robert said, also seriously.

"I love you," Joseph said, taking his hand, the one with the helm tattoo he'd gotten so long ago. He lifted it to his lips, and Robert thought he'd do something extremely sappy like kiss it. But instead Joseph just barely touched the tattoo with his lips and said against it: "I appreciate this. And to show how much, I'm gonna... help you prove Mothman is bullshit." Then Robert felt Joseph smile against his hand.

That shouldn't have made warmth and desire pool in Robert's stomach, especially not that soon after he'd "blown his load," and yet here he was, getting all excited in front of a church.

Robert collected himself, said in a faint voice "I'll get you your own knife, we'll be hunting buddies."

Joseph chuckled at that. "I'll need your guiding hand at first."

"Anyway," Robert said, feeling a goddamned blush spread over his cheeks, "I'll be over there." He pointed at one of the chairs in front of their stall. Joseph let go of his hand, but not before giving it a small kiss.

  
As Joseph set up the cupcake display, Robert took out his whittling knife and a piece he'd been working on - another Betsy portrait, this time with a ribbon Joseph put on her collar. "Best of both worlds," he'd said. Betsy was not happy about it at first, but she got used to it quickly, bribed by some homemade doggy treats, no doubt.

As he whittled, Robert's thoughts wandered off to the time he and Betsy went looking for cryptids in the cemetery, only to encounter a clearly distressed Joseph, sitting on the edge of one of the tombstones, a big, expensive-looking one, talking in a flat voice to some person long dead.

It was a couple of weeks after their Coffee Spoon meeting, and Robert hadn't seen Joseph during that time. Now here he was, illuminated by a solitary lantern, looking worse than ever.

Once again, he hesitated, thinking Joseph probably wanted some time alone. However, it was well after midnight, and it was not safe to be alone at a grave site, even he always brought Betsy along. So he decided to linger for a moment or two, and keep watch from the distance, at least until Joseph decided to leave. It was only fair after Joseph had helped him weeks ago.

Robert made sure not to make any noise, but the graveyard was otherwise too quiet for him not to hear at least some words Joseph was saying to the tombstone.

Words like "Why was I never good enough?" and "I loved you, dad." That was, until Joseph stopped talking altogether and started sobbing.

Robert acted on impulse. He walked up to Joseph and put a hand on his shoulder. Joseph looked at him, his face glistening with tears, and then, after recognising him, started sobbing and shaking even harder. Robert sat beside him and let him sob into his shoulder.

Afterwards, when he calmed down some, Joseph told him how he'd never gotten a chance to tell his father he was gay. The one time he tried, back when he was a young man, his father changed the subject and told him a man's duty is to his church and his family, that everything else he might think he feels is unimportant and must be buried in praise for the Lord. Joseph ran away days after, and when he came back it was in the capacity of a lost sheep coming back to its shepherd. Soon after, he married and decided to obey his father's doctrine no matter what. To be a dutiful husband and a father, live his life in a Lord-approved way, be fruitful and multiply, love, honor, and obey. All the big ones.

Robert just nodded, his heart aching for the guy. When Joseph's tears dried, he drove him home.

When Joseph was at the door to his building, he turned and said "I wish I'd been a better friend to you, Robert."

Robert had no idea what to say to that, he just waved goodbye at Joseph and drove off.

Back home, he lay sleepless in his bed, enduring a sporadic lick on the face from worried Betsy.

Joseph was wrong, he wasn't the only one who could've been a better friend. Robert felt an overwhelming guilt for what had happened between them back when Joseph was still married. A guilt he decided to drown in alcohol and an Ingmar Bergman marathon.

  
Back in the present, Joseph finished setting up the stall. He had at least fifty cupcakes immaculately ordered in such way that the spaces between two cupcakes were always the same width. He had hand-made the pastel blue price tag, now he set it in front of the cupcakes, exactly in the middle. Joseph, when anxious, always got incredibly... precise, Robert knew it was best to just let him work.

"You done?" he asked Joseph who now had an actual ruler in his hand and was measuring... something from various spots around the stall.

"Yeah," he said, turning, still brandishing the ruler, "yeah, I think it's-" he extended the hand with the ruler once more, squinting, then nodding, "-perfect. What do you think?"

"I think you're gonna sell a bunch of cupcakes." He smiled encouragingly.

Joseph smiled back, "You think so?"

Robert nodded, the hopeful look in Joseph's eyes making his heart ache. He just needed to do one more thing.

"And I'm going to be your assistant cupcake seller. Only -" he gave his clothes a meaningful once-over, the leather jacket and the red shirt, "- I think I need a more appropriate look.

Joseph looked at him confusedly, the shook his head dismissvely "You're fi-..."

Robert quickly untied the blue sweater that was, as always, around Joseph's neck and gently took it in his hands. "Be right back," he said and walked over to his pick-up.

When he came back, wearing Joseph's sweater, the man gave him such a yearning look, Robert knew he'd done just the right thing.

As they took their place in front of the cupcake stall, Joseph said, "Does this mean I'll have to find and dust off my old biker jacket for our cryptid-hunting trip?"

Robert just smiled, now was not the time to make a scene over Joseph's always borrowing his biker jacket. Not in the least because Joseph would find a way to make his reasons sexy and now was not the time. Now was business time. In front of a church.

  
The potential buyers soon filled the church yard, familiar faces included. Mat Sella, the Coffee Spoon owner, and his daughter Carmensita were the first to make a purchase - they bought four cupcakes.

"You know," Mat said, eyeing the cupcakes hungrily, "I could sell these at Coffee Spoon, if... you know, you ever go into cupcake business."

"I'm pretty happy with my business of Youth Pastoring, thanks," Joseph said, smiling sweetly.

"And I'm loaded," Robert offered.

Mat and Carmensita glanced one more time at the cupcakes, then quickly walked off to the next stall.

Joseph shook his head exasperatedly at Robert.

Next costumer was Craig, he was holding his baby daughter by the hand - she'd apparently learned how to walk, Robert spotted his other two daughters making mischief by the ice cream machine. As soon as they saw their father stop by the stall, they ran up to him.

"I'll have two for the bandits, and one for River and myself to share."

Joseph packed three cupcakes into a small box. Craig eyed the stall longingly. Robert could recognise a good business opportunity when he saw one.

"I think River can take on an entire cupcake by herself," Robert said, "and her dad should indulge some." He flashed Craig a smile. "They're really good," he whispered.

"Ok, I trust my bro Robert. Give us one more cupcake," he said to Joseph, who added one more into the box.

Craig paid for the cupcakes and Joseph took a moment to plant a kiss on Robert's forehead. "You're pretty good at this," he said.

"I could get much better," he answered, licking his lips.

Joseph's gaze dropped. But before he could tell him to behave, or even better, drag him behind the church for a quickie, another costumer appeared. It was Brian. His daughter was just behind him.

"I shouldn't," Brian said, eyeing the cupcakes. "Oh hey you guys!" he said when he realized who was selling them. He shook their hands and even hugged Robert, slapping him heartily on the back. "You guys figured it out, huh? Damn time!"

Robert looked at Joseph. He was smiling at Brian. A real smile. Robert wanted to kiss them both.

"In that case," Brian said, "I'll take five cupcakes."

Daisy pulled on his shirt, a look of consternation gracing her features.

"Oh, and for my daughter-" he turned to Daisy. "How many do you want, dear?"

She sighed, gave the cupcakes a once-over. "One, please."

The sale settled, and the cupcakes paid for, Brian turned to leave. But then he stopped and turned to Joseph with a serious, pensive look on his face. "Hope you'll throw a grill party soon, now that you're back in the cul-de-sac."

Joseph stopped in his tracks, then reluctantly nodded. "We'll see."

But Robert knew how much it meant to Joseph that even one of his neighbours had missed his cookouts. He also knew he'd have to buy a new grill set-up. The best on the market.

When Brian was gone, Joseph came closer and briefly pressed Robert's hand. Robert took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze back. They held hands like that until the next costumer came by.

The next costumer was Damien. Soon he was joined by a harassed-looking Hugo and their sons, Ernest Hemingway and Lucien -both looking smug about something.

Joseph gave Damien a puzzled look.

"Don't even ask," Damien said.

"If these two spent just a fraction of time they spend on doing literature-inspired pranks, on some actual schoolwork, why..." Hugo said.

"We'd have two geniuses at home," Damien added.

Damien and Hugo were an item nowadays as well. Common love for art and culture, and possibly common hassle of having trouble-making sons made them connect.

"We'll have two each," Damien said pointing at himself and Hugo. The sullen looks on their sons' faces were priceless. "And good wishes to you both," Damien added with a small bow.

"Any... cookouts in the works?" Hugo asked Joseph.

"I thought you were serious about becoming vegetarian?" Damien said, side-eyeing him.

"You know I can do veggie burgers like a pro," Joseph said, trying to help.

"Yeah," Robert said, "his new recipe is un-bean-lievable."

Ernest and Lucien groaned.

"We shall see," Damien said, paying for the cupcakes.

Hugo said something to Joseph Robert didn't quite catch.

They left and Joseph once more took Robert's hand. The bake sale was going well, Joseph looked ecstatic. It was Robert's favorite look on him.

"Hugo said he liked my grilled onions the best anyway."

"Good for him," Robert said. Damien deserved someone who'd take him seriously, veggie burgers included.

Several more customers bought the cupcakes, and before they knew it, they had only four more to sell.

That's when their last neighbour showed up. He was with his daughter, Amanda, and Robert had spied them minutes before, looking at Joseph's cupcakes hungrily, but not quite ready to approach the stall. The cupcakes won, it seemed.

"Dad look, just four more left!" Amanda said, pointing at the cupcakes cheerily.

"Hello," the man waved awkwardly. "She's hungry from all the... studying."

"Oh, right," Joseph said, spreading his hands in realization. "How's the art school going?"

"Great," Amanda said. "We'll have the remaining four cupcakes, please."

Her father sighed. "Okay, Manda Panda, as you wish."

Joseph packed the cupcakes and gave them to Amanda. She ran off with them in an unknown direction.

"So, how's life?" the man asked after he'd paid for the cupcakes.

Robert shrugged.

"Good, I'm glad to be back," Joseph said, smiling.

"Well, I'm glad for the," he pointed among Robert and Joseph awkwardly. "You two... look good. Together."

"Thanks," Joseph said.

"I can show you our make up tricks," Robert said.

"That... won't be necessary. Anyway, I'd better get going, if I want to taste some cupcake crumbs." With that, he was gone.

When they were alone again, the cupcakes all gone, Joseph counted the money. "Very good," he said, "I can buy my youth congregation a skateboard each."

"So, enough to fix the roof? That's what you're saying?" Robert said, stretching. It had been a long several hours.

"Yes!" Joseph put the money into the metal box. Then he came over to Robert and hugged him. "Now, we can go home, I saved us some cupcakes, we can go wild."

"I get to choose the music." Robert said, leaning into the hug. Joseph felt pliant and relaxed in his arms again.

"I'm vetoing the Waits right now though," Joseph said into his neck.

"What do you take me for?"

  
_Months ago_

It'd been more than a month since the graveyard episode. Thirty nine days of trying not to think about Joseph's tear-stricken face, his flat voice by his father's tomb. He'd thought a bunch of booze-filled nights followed by a bunch of hungover days would help him put it out of his mind. He was wrong. He wanted to know if Joseph was feeling better, if he'd gone to the graveyard again, if he shaved off that ugly blond beard. But he knew that that path could lead nowhere good. The truth was, he never stopped having feelings for the man. Having feelings meant a possibility of getting hurt. A damn great possibility when it came to Joseph. But he wanted to help the man just as well. He wanted to be his friend.

So on that Friday, he told himself, I can do this, I can do friendship, and contacted Joseph the only way he knew how, via DadBook. He typed: "how about a friendly bite of banana bread @ the coffee spoon?"

The answering bleep came within two minutes. The message said: "I have to warn you, my friendly bites are quite large. :)"

Robert chuckled to himself, thinking, _yep, we're doing this_. He typed back: "lucky for you, i'm loaded"

The answer came back instantaneously. "In that case, meet me there in half an hour. Bring your own fork."

 

When Robert got to the Coffee Spoon, Joseph was already sitting on one of the couches. He still had the beard, but the shirt he was wearing was some sort of sea-blue. On his face was a shy smile. And Robert thought to himself:  _It's a good start._

 


End file.
